Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
The Sustainable Development Goals were first proposed in 1992 by a global think tank called the “Club of Rome”.
The Sustainable Development Goals have to be achieved by 2030.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Sustainable Development Goals were not proposed by the Club of Rome in 1992.
The Club of Rome was established in 1968 and is known for studies concerning resources, population, the environment and limits to economic growth.
The famous report The Limits to Growth, published by the Club of Rome, was released in 1972.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, or Earth Summit, was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
Important documents such as Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration and Forest Principles were adopted at the Rio Conference.
Agenda 21 was a comprehensive action plan for sustainable development, but the Club of Rome did not propose the present 17 SDGs in 1992.
The process of formalising the concept of SDGs is associated with the Rio+20 Conference of 2012 and its outcome document, “The Future We Want”.
Subsequently, the United Nations Open Working Group developed the framework of the goals and their associated targets.
Statement 2 is correct: The United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015.
It established 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 associated targets.
The implementation period of the SDGs extends from 2016 to 2030.
The goals cover areas such as poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, water, energy, employment, inequality, cities, climate and biodiversity.
The SDGs are universal and apply to both developed and developing countries.
They are considered interconnected and indivisible because progress on one goal may influence other goals.
The SDGs succeeded the eight Millennium Development Goals, which operated from 2000 to 2015.
The five broad foundations of the 2030 Agenda are People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership.